Fatty acid elongases are also referred to as 3-ketoacyl-CoA-synthases or as “condensing enzymes”. Very long chain fatty acid elongases, abbreviated to VLCFAE hereinafter, are responsible for the biosynthesis of fatty acids with a chain length of more than 18 C atoms (Millar, A. A. and Kunst, L. 1997, The Plant Journal 12(1), 121-131). The substrates recognized by VLCFAE apart from malonyl-CoA ester are only fatty acid-CoA esters with chain lengths of greater than or equal to C18 (C18+), and the proteins are probably microsomally associated in the cytoplasm. Synthesis of fatty acids with up to 18 C atoms de novo in plants takes place in the chloroplast, and the fatty acids are esterified by an acyl carrier protein (ACP), (WO 98/54954). Long-Chain Fatty Acids, referred to as VLCFA hereinafter, are components and precursors of the wax layer in the cuticle of plants. They may be components and precursors of cell membranes or constituents of specific storage triacylglycerides. However, they may also be constituents or precursors of lipids with a signal function or with a second messenger function in the plant, such as, for example, the sphingolipids. (Millar, A. A. and Kunst, L. 1997, The Plant Journal 12(1), 121-131, Millar et al. 2000, Trends in Plant Science 5, 95-101).